1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a non-pneumatic tire for a vehicle and, more particularly, to a non-pneumatic tire for a vehicle, which is capable of providing controllability similar to that of a pneumatic tire without utilizing air pressure and also preventing foreign substances from being caught therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, most vehicles are chiefly using pneumatic tires. However, such pneumatic tires are problematic in that the structures thereof are complicated, a large number of steps, for example, eight or more, are required for a process of manufacturing such a pneumatic tire, a large amount of toxic substance is emitted accordingly, users suffer from the inconvenience of management in which the air pressures of the tires essential for the performance and safety of the tires should be frequently inspected, and the pneumatic tires entail a problem with safety in which the tires are damaged due to puncture from a foreign substance or impact while in motion, thus resulting in traffic accidents.
In order to overcome the problems of pneumatic tires, airless tires have been developed, and various types of non-pneumatic tires have been proposed.
For non-pneumatic tires capable of replacing pneumatic tires, Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2006-0051513 discloses a non-pneumatic flexible tire that supports a load on the tire using a plurality of support members including many layers of staple, and Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2008-0038274 discloses a non-pneumatic tire that includes a body made of an elastic material, a circumferentially extending crown part configured to function as a ground contact surface, and extending sidewalls attached to the body and the crown part. Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2004-0027984 discloses a non-pneumatic tire that includes a reinforced annular band configured to support a load exerted onto the tire, and a plurality of web spokes configured to transfer load force between the annular band and a wheel or hub in a tensile state. Additionally, Korean Patent No. 1043001 discloses an airless tire that is configured to perform a buffering action via a honeycomb-shaped buffering unit and sustain a pressure applied to the tire.
In the non-pneumatic tire including a plurality of web spokes, structure reinforcing elements are contained in a tread that come into contact with the web spokes and a ground surface, and this configuration sustains the load of a vehicle and also performs a function similar to that of the air pressure of a pneumatic tire. However, this non-pneumatic tire is problematic in that gaps are open among the web spokes, and thus the cracks of the spokes are caused when foreign substances, such as sand and gravel, infiltrate into the gaps from the outside via the gaps, thereby reducing the lifespan of the tire.